As Centaurus A, it is the closest radio source outside our galaxy at perhaps 17 million lightyears distance. It is a large elliptical galaxy, merging with and shredding a spiral galaxy in the process – shown by the impressive areas of dust and star formation in the dark lanes. A slow-motion crash spread over millions of years.
It is one of the most interesting objects in the southern constellation of Centaurus and around 100,000 lightyears across. There is a supermassive black hole in the centre, with around 55 million solar masses – compared with the 4 million solar mass black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
This LRGB image is the result of 2h45m of remote data capture over three evenings, from New South Wales in June 2021, using a 20-inch Planewave CDK reflector and FLI-PL09000 CCD camera.
Date: 21/06/2021
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
